LIVING SYMBOL OF UKRAINE
Spring descends to the earth from the stork's wings, heralding joy and happiness. Since ancient times, this bird has symbolized love for the father and mother who blessed this world. Therefore, it is a symbol of procreation, family well-being and love for the native land.
The white stork is a migratory bird that lives in Europe, Africa and Asia. According to research by ornithologists, it appeared in Ukraine in the 16th-17th centuries. Since then, the bird that brings spring on its wings has become a living symbol of our country. Although the stork and the crane are two different birds, their symbolism in the people and their meaning in human life are the same, due to their external similarity.
Storks are considered sacred birds because of their loyalty to man, because they have never done people any harm. Our ancestors believed that birds are endowed with human souls, feel the human heart and understand language. They are also famous for their loyalty. If a stork chooses a mate, it is for life. When one of the pair dies, the other goes to certain death. And when betrayal occurs in a bird family, the culprit is subject to condemnation by the other birds and even punished with death.
ACCORDING TO THE LEGEND…
In Christianity, the bird is a symbol of purity and prudence. It is considered divinely chosen and associated with piety and resurrection.
The sacred duty of a bird is to destroy various pests, such as vipers or frogs. This is described in one of the ancient legends: once upon a time, God saw that snakes, frogs, worms and all kinds of other reptiles were causing a lot of harm on Earth and decided to get rid of them. He gathered those reptiles into a large bag and instructed a man to throw it into the sea. However, he warned him not to untie the bag and not to look inside. The man disobeyed, and not having the strength to fight the thirst to find out what was in the bag, he untied it. In an instant, the reptiles spread out in different directions, he did not even have time to blink. God was angry with him for disobedience and turned him into a stork. The latter felt ashamed of his act, which caused his head to bow, and his beak and legs to turn red with shame. And so, ever since, the stork has been wandering through swamps and steppes, searching for snakes and frogs in the hope of collecting the remains of the reptiles it has released.
People have always had great respect for these birds. In the spring, they were often met by the whole village, barely hearing the long-awaited cooing. Seeing the birds in the sky, people turned to them with requests for health, fertility and well-being. A fairly common ritual for meeting the birds was baking special cookies called "stork paws". They were given to children, thus calling on the storks to return home as soon as possible.
When the birds flew away in a flock, they shouted after them "Wheel road!" so that those who returned to their native land would return sooner. It was also believed that this phrase could delay the departure of the birds, and with it the frost. The mournful cooing of the birds symbolized an incredible longing for their native land. Their singing left no one indifferent, that was how sad the song was. Storks spend most of their time on the road. Flying away to warmer climes in August-September, they only reach Africa in December, where they spend the winter. A month later they are preparing to fly again, but already home. By the way, they return to their homeland twice as fast as they fly to a foreign land.
There is also a certain symbolism associated with the purpose of their autumn and spring flights. According to ancient belief, in autumn the birds flew away, taking with them the souls of the deceased and accompanying them to the afterlife. In spring, returning home, they accompanied the souls of babies who were destined to be born soon. Probably, all of us in childhood heard from our parents that storks bring children.
With their arrival and call, they announced the change in the natural cycle, the coming joy, carefree spring and happy summer. That is why in the spring cranes are called veseliki. The people call them differently: zhuravel, buzko, bushel, buslik, chernoguz, gaister, veseliki, dlykoten, etc. No other bird in Ukraine has so many local names.
Sometimes they were given more unusual names, like those for birds. In general, animals and birds were never called human names. However, storks were an exception, they were addressed as people: “Anton, when will it be warm?” or “Ivan, bring the warmth!”.
A HARMONY OF JOY AND LUCK
A large number of geographical names are also associated with the bird: Buzkiv Yar, Lelechyn Potyk, Chornoguzki rapids, Botsyanivka, Lelekivka, Chornoguzy.
And Ukrainian folklore is filled with a large number of proverbs, signs, songs and poems about cranes. Legends spoke with special tenderness about their nobility. The stork was glorified in historical songs and poems. Its images were embodied on the coats of arms, emblems of cities and ancient family estates. Archaeologists have found many clay figurines, toys, jewelry and painted dishes depicting these birds.
Referring to folk signs, people believed that when someone first sees a crane in the spring, they will soon be at a wedding. If they see a whole flock, it means that the family will be replenished or they will meet relatives.
According to other sources, seeing one stork foreshadowed a whole year of loneliness, and two - a quick meeting with her partner. If a girl saw a stork in a nest, it meant that she would spend another year in her parents' house.
It was considered a good omen to see a crane in flight. And watching the cranes dance was a harbinger of joy and luck. If you saw cranes resting in the field, it was believed that this was a bountiful harvest.
Also, by the arrival of birds, they determined when to expect warming. People believed that they were the ones who brought warmth and took it back to the nest. So, if the birds arrived earlier, they expected an early and warm summer. If the bird stood on one leg, they expected a quick cold snap. Watching the birds, they noticed that before a strong wind arose, storks circled around their nests for a long time. If they saw that the storks were busy in their nests, it was time to plant onions.
It was also believed that if a bird flew over a house with a newborn baby, the family would be replenished again in a year. A quick replenishment in the family was also expected when a stork sat on the roof during a wedding or dreamed of by a married woman.
Killing a crane was a great sin. The person who dared to do this and his family were expected to suffer misfortune or even death. This could bring misfortune to the back of generations. It was believed that the stork's nest was a talisman against lightning and fire. Therefore, it was believed that the offender's house would burn down after his act.
It was forbidden to point a finger at flying birds. According to legend, this could cause them to get lost. Also, people tried not to disturb the birds when they accidentally met them. They limited themselves to a short and quiet observation.
THE ORIGIN OF THE FIREBIRD
The storks themselves were not at all afraid of people. They treated those in whose yard they lived with special trust, demonstrating this by calmly walking around the yard, even in the presence of people. By the way, the owner of the house where the stork settled was considered very respected in the village.
They tried in every way to attract storks to their homes, arranging their nests on the roofs of houses or on poles near their dwellings. The yard in which the stork settled was considered happy. After all, the patron bird guards happiness and does not let trouble in. Sitting on the roof, it symbolized protection and patronage. There is an opinion that the stork is the prototype of the firebird.
When the birds arrive home, the male is the first to return to the nest. He guards it and makes sure that no one else occupies it, and then the mistress returns. Interestingly, not only the nest itself is considered to be its own territory, which other birds were not allowed to encroach on, but also a certain part of the territory around it. If the bird left it, it was believed that the yard and house would also be deserted in the near future. The village where the storks settled was also protected from misfortunes and bad weather.
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